CoEnzyme Q10

Our Price: $12.75

Quantity: 30 capsules per bottle.

Supplement Facts (amount per capsule):

CoEnzyme Q10 - 30mg

Suggested Use: Take 1 capsule daily with a meal.

Giving an Ailing Heart A Boost With a Supplement

Can a vitamin-like nutrient boost an ailing heart? Companies that sell Coenzyme Q10 say daily doses improve heart function and increase energy levels. Scientific evidence on Coenzyme Q10 is mixed, and physicians urge patients not to stop taking conventional drugs.

Some five million Americans suffer from heart failure, in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to other organs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It causes shortness of breath, fluid buildup, fatigue and can be fatal.

Coenzyme Q10, a substance found naturally in the body, is believed by some scientists to fortify ailing hearts and to improve other conditions in which heart function is impaired, such as arrhythmias. It is found in cell mitochondria, tiny structures that serve as power sources. Heart cells, which have high energy needs, may get a particular boost from the nutrient.

Daily doses generally range from 30 milligrams a day to 450 or more for very ill patients. Serious side effects haven't been seen, though doctors say some patients report jitters and sleeplessness, similar to drinking too much coffee. Cost varies depending on dose and brand, but often ranges from $10 to $30 a month.

While a number of scientific studies have found Coenzyme Q10 does improve heart function, conflicting results from other studies have caused some cardiologists to be wary of it. "I don't see any evidence that it works," says Stephen S. Gottlieb, a professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and senior author of a 55-person study that found it no more effective than placebo in treating heart failure. It's most likely harmless, he adds, but he encourages patients not to stop taking conventional medicines.

Cardiologists who advocate the use of Coenzyme Q10 believe some of the negative studies, including Dr. Gottlieb's, may have been hampered by a too-low dose. Dr. Gottlieb says his study used doses as high as those in other studies that showed efficacy.

For patients considering Coenzyme Q10, quality of the supplement is key. Independent-testing concern ConsumerLab.com last year tested three-dozen samples, and all were found to have the advertised quantities, an improvement from past years' surveys.

But another issue is how much of the nutrient actually gets absorbed by the body. In recent years, some scientists questioned whether Coenzyme Q10 is easily absorbed, while manufacturers have increasingly been touting their products as the most "bioavailable," or absorbed into the blood.

Connecticut cardiologist Stephen Sinatra, who widely uses the nutrient in his practice, recommends that patients go to their doctor for a blood test a month after starting Coenzyme Q10 therapy. For effective therapy in patients with heart failure, he looks for 2.5 to 3.5 micrograms of the coenzyme for every milliliter of blood, compared with about eight-tenths to one microgram in the average person before treatment. If blood levels don't seem to be increasing, he recommends first increasing the dose, and if that doesn't work, switching brands. Dr. Sinatra, author of a book on the coenzyme, receives commissions on the sale of supplements sold by Healthy Directions LLC of Potomac, Md.